He Could Get Used to a Life Like This
by batoracle
Summary: The former swashbuckling rogue muses on the pleasures (and restraints) of his married life, as well as the new habits his wife unknowingly picks up as she prepares for Queenship. -FLUFF! because that's what we all like Might add more chapters (continuous from film, different from upcoming TV movie/series)
1. Metamorphosis

Never did Flynn Rider expect to find himself settling down and adjusting to the married life.

The same swashbuckling rogue, who was once infamous for his unique finesse at picking up ladies and stirring trouble in every corner of the kingdom, had grown accustomed to the married life. An intricately controlled life set before him upon the moment he uttered the words "I do".

Perhaps this life had been panned out for him the moment he started looking at Rapunzel in a different light. The whole ordeal in Rapunzel's tower and their small intimate moment after were enough to seal their love and commitment to each other. Eugene knew then that his life will be revolving around hers, just as hers would around his. He would not have traded it for any other way in spite of the rigidity his new royal life came with.

Flynn Rider would have liked the castle a lot. But Eugene Fitzherbert (Prince Consort of Corona, as he was told to go by ever since) have had moments when he felt like the castle was suffocating him. Besides being in the presence of Rapunzel's loving but formidable parents, Eugene constantly found himself under the noses of the infinite number of royal servants and guards patrolling the royal quarters.

The suspicion on him was slow to rub away initially. He understood the sentiment nevertheless because he too found himself frequently questioning the depths of his motives prior to marrying Rapunzel. Afterall, Corona's most wanted outlaw becoming the potential Prince Consort was all too much to absorb for Eugene's former chasers when he first stepped in. It sounded like the perfect plan to sabotage the kingdom and satiate an ordinary rogue's greed. He too had to ask himself if he was marrying Rapunzel for her … or for something else.

Life in the castle as Rapunzel's mere companion prior to marriage was filled with a lot of self-initiated reflection time. Thankfully, all those reflecting led Eugene to discover so much more about the sincerity of the love he shared with her. The King and Queen were primary witnesses to this, hence why asking for the King's daughter's hand was less nerve-wrecking than he initially thought it would be.

Eugene Fitzherbert was meant for the married life. But little did he expect that the royal nature of his marriage could put some strains on both him and Rapunzel.

Rapunzel, as always, had royal duties to attend to. With every day that passed, the longer the list of things she as princess had to attend to. It was one of the many things that Eugene griped about to himself.

The only time they could truly spend time together was during meals (graced by the presence of her parents, of course, unless they were away) or at night when the both of them are heavily exhausted from the tasks of the day. But then there were also those small unexpected moments which they could steal for themselves.

It was in those moments where Eugene found himself observing Rapunzel. It used to be her studying him, back when she was still ecstatically discovering the world that she had been sheltered from her whole life. Eugene was the source of everything she knew about the streets. From the different tricks conmen have up their sleeves, to the basic tactics for efficient bargaining in the marketplace… Rapunzel knew them all thanks to her worldly companion.

But after all the years they have spent together in the castle, the tables have certainly turned. Eugene noticed the small changes in his now-wife. Rapunzel had to broaden her horizons the moment she was reunited with her family - so did he, not to be mistaken. But Rapunzel took her lessons and training more seriously than he did as a result of the weight of her future responsibilities as Queen. Rapunzel's bubbly curiosity soon matured into dignified yearning for knowledge, and Eugene was quick to notice that too.

Soon enough the questions she asked him about the world extended beyond the street life. Her questions became political, philosophical and very factual. She asked questions that were too complex and out of his own reach. If he could not answer them, Rapunzel would insist he join her to the Grand Library to find the answer together. There was something very attractive and alluring about her receptiveness to learning and changing.

Eugene also knew that Rapunzel carried herself gracefully by nature. But what he didn't realise was her ability to carry herself so regally without realising it. Perhaps the myth about royal blood being easily distinguished from common blood is true after all.

Over the course of her training as Princess and Queen-to-be, her poise became more refined. Her reactions were less immediate so as to give her ample time to wisely consider a response - just like a true royal would. Rapunzel's overall demeanour too later commanded the due respect and honour that her title naturally demands. Her refined regal air however did not rob her of the natural warmth that her personality emits. And so her presence was more than welcomed by commoners because they were not daunted by her title, nor did they misinterpret her air for aloofness or snobbery.

There were times, of course, when Eugene was helplessly subjected to this faint feeling of inferiority before they were married. But Rapunzel, being the acute person that she naturally is, would always be quick to notice this discomfort and ease the unwarranted tension. Her efforts convinced him that he did have a place in her life and in this castle. Only such a divine personality like Rapunzel's could dissipate all his doubts so quickly.

This unique dynamic in their relationship was definitely a saving grace in a marriage filled with external pressure.

And Eugene loved the married life, that was a fact. They may not have as much free time as they wished, but they certainly had more liberty with each other. It was this liberty that made the small moments they could steal to be with each other all the more exciting.

There were times when he would steal a quick kiss on Rapunzel's cheek or shoulder when he passes behind her. Usually she would be overwhelmed with some task she was assigned to and Eugene's brief sweet gestures would be enough to take away the stress from her.

The gestures were of course not entirely one-sided. It would even bring Eugene's former alter ego to shame to know that most of the gestures were initiated by a very overwhelmed Rapunzel.

One of those moments took place once in the princess' royal study. Rapunzel had asked Eugene to accompany her in the study as she toiled through the day's list of royal administering. He was comfortably sprawled on the couch, ready to take a nap before he was called off to go riding with the King (a sport the in-laws found much common interest in).

Just as he was about to doze off, he heard the screeching of the chair against the marble floor. Before he knew it, Rapunzel had joined him on the couch and cozied herself up against him.

"You make me so mad, Eugene," she murmured against his collar. "How could you be so _daring_ as to be comfortably idle while _I'm busy_ with the kingdom's needs?" There was no regret in her words but there was certainly a depth of humour to it.

Rapunzel loved the people of her kingdom so much, she could not possibly feel burdened to be helping them. The idea of doing paperwork just made things a little difficult for her to visualise her people benefitting from her duties.

"Don't hate the player, Blondie, hate the game."

The tug on the corner of Eugene's smug lips encouraged Rapunzel to kiss his sleepy face, and this stirred him out of his dazed state. Their small pleasant kiss soon turned into a passionate make-out session before the languor of the warm afternoon enticed them once again to fall asleep in each other's arms on the couch.

The two sleeping forms were later discovered by their panic-stricken royal advisor. Little had they known that they had unintentionally sent the whole castle amok when the both of them missed their separate appointments later that day. Eugene bore the bulk of the royal advisor's reprimanding.


	2. The Snuggly Duckling

Rapunzel's spunky spiritedness never left as well, much to Eugene's pleasure. In spite of all the changes in her life, her natural inclination for spontaneity still manages to take him by surprise.

"Don't these walls get too claustrophobic at times, Blondie?" he had asked out of the blue as the couple walked hand-in-hand through the halls after dinner.

"Doesn't it?" She agreed with such unexpected relief. "We should go to the Snuggly Duckling's!"

Eugene stopped dead in his tracks to look her in the eye. "At this hour?"

"Why not? We don't have anything to do for the rest of the evening."

Eugene shot her a calculative look, but later realised she was right. There was nothing to be fearful about sneaking out. This was initiated by the Princess herself. Had he been the one to persuade her to sneak out with him … then that would be another story to tell. Perhaps the royal advisor would lose all his hair if he ever catches them again.

And the two found themselves dressing in their most mundane clothes (the ones which they first wore to reunite Rapunzel with her parents). They snuck out of the castle's quarters with the help of Maximus in the darkness of the night and arrived to a boisterous, welcoming crowd in the notorious tavern.

The royal couple certainly had strong ties with the the rest of the kingdom's outlaws. The evening was spent catching up with one another (mostly with Rapunzel while poor Eugene was shoved to the side of her limelight) and the night was one of the liveliest that the couple has had.

"Do they serve you fancy drinks?"

"Not as fine as yours, but still tolerable," Rapunzel assured, being so charmingly appeasing to everyone as always. This sent the circle of thugs whooping in victory.

"Then that calls for another round on me!" Hook Hand howled in delight.

"And what about you, Flynn? How's the castle dream goin' for ya?"

" - That's _Prince Consort_ to you, Big Nose," Eugene smugly pointed out as he downed the remains of his pint.

"Big whop!" Someone hollered.

"Get outta here!"

This left Rapunzel laughing as she glanced at her husband. He rolled his eyes at the apparent dissimilarity in the way each of them were treated in the tavern and returned to hunch over his now-empty pint on the bar.

"Eugene's been doing a lot for the townsfolk actually," she later pointed out. "In fact, he's looking to find a way to slash taxes in this area and direct more funds for development here. Isn't that right?"

This got him to frown at her, obviously not comfortable at the idea of announcing he's dealings to a bunch of rowdy thugs.

"That's a good joke, princess."

"Tell us more!"

"No, I'm telling the truth!"

Another round of laughter ensued among the boisterous crowd before Hook Hand directed his attention to Eugene. "Wow … you've certainly taken a 180 degree turn eh, Rider? You've taken us all by surprise, for sure."

"Well," Eugene sought for a response to give. "It's what the married life demands."

He smirked faintly and flashed a wink at Rapunzel. He could've said 'royal life' but that was not enough. He would have rebelled from the very start and perhaps run away from all the duties entangling him were it not for Rapunzel.

Shorty jumped up in-between Rapunzel and Eugene and looked them over with his usual sleazy, inebriated smile. "Married life, eh? So when can we expect little Riders? Soon? How about tomorrow?"

Eugene looked down at him, mortified. Rapunzel had turned red just a little bit but she was still very light-hearted about it.

"You'll be the first to know, Shorty."

"Well, just lemme know if Rider here's doing a poor job at getting it on." He wiggled his brows up at Eugene. "It was _I_ who taught him the tricks to being super suave in the room."

Eugene choked at this and slapped his face. "That doesn't sound right … _at all_." He wouldn't admit for all his life that Shorty was telling some truth about receiving tips on women from him.

" _Really_ now?" This got Rapunzel's attention and she raised her brows up at Eugene.

"Damn right! D'you know Liezl? The busty woman down the street - "

"Drink up, folks!" Hook Hand announced as he slammed another tray-full of beer pints on the table. Eugene was thankful for the interruption.

"Rider here got Liezl real good that one time - "

" _\- Okay!_ I think that's enough storytelling for the night, Shorty." Eugene grabbed a pint and shoved it to the chatty old man. "We'll call you when a baby's on the way."

Shorty seemed pleased at this and happily dragged himself away with his refilled pint of beer.

"Liezl?" Rapunzel asked Eugene inquisitively.

"It's nothing, Blondie," he assured her. And that was enough for her - but she wasn't going to cease the fun so quickly. Eugene took her hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it. "You know you're the only one for me."

"So then it'll be okay if we meet this Liezl someday right?" She innocently asked with a smile.

Eugene searched her face, confused. But then he knew better than to take Rapunzel's innocence at face value at that point of their relationship. She knew better. "I don't think that's necessary, my love."

Rapunzel finally let out a laugh and nodded. "I know."

"What are you waiting for, lovebirds?" Big Nose interrupted. "Drink up!"

Eugene squirmed on his seat and courageously shook his head. "I think we've had enough for the night, guys. We best be heading back."

"Don't be a spoilsport, Rider!"

"Who are you? Her _mother_?"

"Her husband, actually."

"Oh please!"

"Stay another hour!"

"Well, let's ask her!" Hook Hand suggested. "Are you tired already, Princess?"

Rapunzel's eyes repeatedly shifted from Hook Hand's to her husband's. She then settled her eyes on Eugene's with a pleading look. "It's not everyday we get to stay, Eugene."

He couldn't say no to her. Not because of her pleading eyes, or the fact that she was Princess of Corona. But also because she had a point. When was the next time they could have as much fun like this and drink endless pints of beer without being chastised by their royal advisor?

"Alright, alright, Blondie."

This sent the whole place roaring once more and Rapunzel jumped onto Eugene, squealing. All forms of regal propriety forgotten at that instant.

"But I'm not answering to _him_ again," he mentioned as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Rapunzel kissed his cheek and pulled back to look at him. "Don't worry, he won't mind if it's me."

"Lucky you."

"Don't hate the player, Eugene, _hate the game_." She smirked up at him. He hated how quickly she can play his game. And yet he found himself falling all the more for her because of it.

"Aye, this calls for a night of toasting and endless drinking!" Someone announced. "Who's up for a game?"


End file.
